An exhaustive and authoritative investigation into the Christadelphians with links from their own sources as well as insights from former members. Complete examination of their history, organisation, theology, practices, and the challenges they face.

CHRISTIAN HISTORY

Diverse Beginnings

If we consider the origins of Christianity there is evidence that it was very diverse.
This makes it extremely difficult to objectively prove any form of authority to
be valid based upon history alone. If length of continuous history alone is
any form of proof then Catholic and Orthodox forms have strong claims based upon
their long recorded history. That doesn’t however prove they are the original
or true forms and a common Protestant claim has been that they became apostate or
corrupted by time rather than being preserved by it. Some restorationist churches,
such as the Christadelphians, have gone further and claimed ALL basic doctrines
as well as practices were corrupted with time. Some have claimed restoration
as a result of the leading of the Holy Spirit, some such as the Mormons claim additional
revelations, some such as the Christadelphians have claimed
rediscovery based upon the theological studies of the Bible by their
founders.

History shows that Christianity has also had purely esoteric forms as well as exoteric
forms. An exoteric one claims a basis in historical fact. Most Christian
denominations are based upon exoteric claims. In other words Jesus existed
as a real man on the earth, he was crucified on a real cross and rose from the dead.
We find in the Bible there were people who did not believe Jesus came in the flesh.
They were known as Gnostics and they were persecuted as heretics and only some of
their writing survive. Throughout history various esoteric forms have re-emerged,
usually based upon claims of inner enlightenment. Inner enlightenment however
isn’t limited to esoteric forms and most forms of Christianity have also believed
in some form of being led by the Spirit too. The Christadelphians are an exception
to this.

As noted by Christadelphians the difficulty with an esoteric basis of authority,
such as being led by the Spirit, is that whilst it may be objective to the person
having the experience it can seem subjective to other people. The Catholic
Church claims the Holy Spirit works through it to ensure the preservation of the
church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim their leadership (“the faithful servant”)
is similarly guided, so do Pentecostals and the Mormons claim so was their founder.
This does not of course mean God does not draw or guide, it simply means many who
claim it must not in fact be so guided.

Rooted in Jewish Origins

Early Christian writings as well as the Bible show early Christians regarded the
Old Testament as scripture. The New Testament also shows the writers quoted
liberally from the Old Testament to validate their claims. They sought to
show that it fitted, although they often spiritualised the quotations they took
from the Old Testament. Jesus is also said to have demonstrated his authority
by the things that he did such as healing the sick, raising the dead and casting
out demons. The early Christians also made similar claims. In their
terms authority was based upon the obvious outward working of God. Since we
do not see that display in most churches claiming some form of authority we can
rightly say they do not have apostolic authority. In fact this lack of seeming
power is the No. 1 problem Christianity today has to back up its claims.